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Wildfire smoke EPA monitor flag

Wildfire-smoke episode, 2018-11-09 through 2018-11-20

November 9, 2018 to November 20, 2018

Named source Camp Fire 153,336 acres , CA · IRWIN 2018-CABTU-016737

Daily PM2.5 peaked at 228.4 µg/m³ near Sacramento across 4 covered metros home to 9.9 million people. 3 metros recorded their worst day on record; 4 placed a top-ten day.

Counting the extra PM2.5 above each metro's typical day, this event handed the average affected resident ≈ 46.3 cigarettes. Across everyone living in the affected metros, that is the collective equivalent of ≈ 460 million cigarettes. An awareness illustration of outdoor exposure at 22 µg/m³ per cigarette (Berkeley Earth), counting only the event's ranked days; not a medical dose.

Why we think this happened

The basis for “Wildfire smoke”

Qualified frozen evidence supports wildfire smoke as the broad cause for this time-bounded episode and supports grouping 2 overlapping event records.

EPA monitor flag EPA attached an exceptional-event qualifier to the affected samples. The agency flagged the measurement itself; no separate agency record describes the event.

U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 16, 2018 official

AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-16, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 15, 2018 official

AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-15, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 18, 2018 official

AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-18, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

See every retained source and limitation ↓

Sequence: San Francisco (Nov 9) → San Jose (Nov 9) → Sacramento (Nov 10) → Stockton (Nov 11)

Evidence path

From source to city

A cause is more convincing when the record connects three things: something happened, the air mass moved toward the region, and local instruments responded. Here is how much of that chain is documented for this event.

Open the evidence ledger ↓
  1. 1

    Source or mechanism

    Wildfire smoke

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-16, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official…

    View supporting source ↗
    Documented
  2. 2

    Air-mass movement

    Transport into the affected region is documented

    NOAA satellite analysis states that thick smoke from the Camp Fire moved west through the Sacramento Valley and south toward the San Francisco Bay area.

    View transport source ↗
    Documented
  3. 3

    Local response

    228.4 µg/m³ near Sacramento

    EPA monitors recorded the event across 4 metros. The peak daily concentration is roughly 10.4 cigarette-equivalents at the outdoor daily rate.

    Inspect the pollutant and weather signals ↓
    Documented

Event autopsy

What the instruments saw

Before, during, and after the episode: nearby pollutant monitors and surface-weather stations show what changed. This context tests the “Wildfire smoke” explanation; it does not assign the cause by itself.

Observed context · not attribution

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Monitor comparison window 2018-11-06 to 2018-11-22 · PM2.5 target: San Pablo

6 pollutant signals
Fine-particle pulse 83 µg/m³

24% above nearby days

PM10 146 µg/m³

44% higher than surrounding days

Pollution fingerprint

Metro-wide median of reporting monitors
PM2.5 83 µg/m³

24% higher than surrounding days

Before9.42 µg/m³ Event83 µg/m³ After11.9 µg/m³
11 monitors · 1 HOUR
PM10 146 µg/m³

44% higher than surrounding days

Before— Event146 µg/m³ After7.50 µg/m³
5 monitors · 24 HOUR
Carbon monoxide 1.11 ppm

13% higher than surrounding days

Before0.583 ppm Event1.11 ppm After0.470 ppm
11 monitors · 1 HOUR
Nitrogen dioxide 31.1 ppb

8% higher than surrounding days

Before21.4 ppb Event31.1 ppb After16 ppb
13 monitors · 1 HOUR
Sulfur dioxide 1.29 ppb

15% higher than surrounding days

Before0.914 ppb Event1.29 ppb After0.850 ppb
7 monitors · 1 HOUR
Ozone 0.018 ppm

About the same as surrounding days

Before0.017 ppm Event0.018 ppm After0.018 ppm
12 monitors · 8-HR RUN AVG BEGIN HOUR

Source: U.S. EPA AirData daily observations and, where available, nearby ASOS/AWOS surface observations. Values are descriptive medians over the retained monitor set; missing measurements remain missing. Transport and source evidence remain separate layers because this instrument pattern does not assign a cause by itself.

Measured daily PM2.5 at EPA monitors, as cigarette-equivalents
EPA monitors sit in metro areas, so the colour clusters there. Land between and beyond them is unmeasured, not clean: this map shows where IAQng has readings, not the extent of the smoke.
—

Episode peak

-- cigarettes

The smoke map's scale, replayed over this event: the surface interpolates between covered metros' daily records, framed to the affected region. Hover for a reading, click a metro to pin it to the card. Days a monitor did not report draw nothing.

Views from the selected metro

Camera views near

Browse the camera map →

Select a metro on the map to see nearby cameras. Where an operator archive reaches the event, drag the divider to compare two moments, adjust either date and time, or play the available event-day frames. Camera imagery is visual context, not an air-quality measurement or proof of smoke.

Affected metros

MetroPeak PM2.5Cigarettes, whole eventPeak dayAll-time standing
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 228.4 µg/m³ 46.1 Nov 15, 2018 #2 of its top days
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 195.4 µg/m³ 58.8 Nov 16, 2018 Worst day on record
Stockton-Lodi, CA 188 µg/m³ 53.9 Nov 16, 2018 Worst day on record
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 138.4 µg/m³ 34.9 Nov 16, 2018 Worst day on record

"Cigarettes, whole event" totals a metro's ranked event days at 22 µg/m³ per cigarette: what a person outdoors there breathed across the event, as the illustration. "All-time standing" is where this episode's days sit in each metro's ranked record (worst-area measure, since 1999). Full local context is on each metro's Air Records page.

Public evidence library

What supports this account

Each card states what a source supports—and what it does not. Official records, research, reporting, community observations, and transparent inferences remain visibly different kinds of evidence.

Official records

  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 16, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 16, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 16, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 9, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 10, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 15, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 9, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Wildfire, CALIFORNIA, Nov 8, 2018 "An extended period of dry weather through the summer and fall with above normal temperatures coupled with a gusty north to northeast wind event created a situation for extremely rapid fire growth. A large wildfire develo…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 10, 2018 "Wildfire smoke brought areas of dense smoke, with visibility levels at times dropping to less than a half mile. Hazardous air quality was measured across much of the Central Valley and Delta, causing numerous school and …" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 10, 2018 "Wildfire smoke brought areas of dense smoke, with visibility levels at times dropping to less than a half mile. Hazardous air quality was measured across much of the Central Valley and Delta, causing numerous school and …" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 10, 2018 "Wildfire smoke brought areas of dense smoke, with visibility levels at times dropping to less than a half mile. Hazardous air quality was measured across much of the Central Valley and Delta, causing numerous school and …" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 9, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 10, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →
  • NOAA Storm Events Dense Smoke, CALIFORNIA, Nov 15, 2018 "Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept condit…" record →

EPA AQS monitor qualifier 50

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 16, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-16, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 15, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-15, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 18, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-18, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 14, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 16 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-14, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 10, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-10, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 13, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-13, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 16, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 70 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-16, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 13, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 68 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-13, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 17, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-17, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 14, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 145 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-14, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 19, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 144 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-19, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 11, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 69 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-11, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 17, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 144 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-17, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 15, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 141 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-15, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 13, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 23 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-13, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 18, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 70 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-18, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 12, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 63 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-12, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 15, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-15, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 16, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 147 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-16, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 11, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-11, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 10, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-10, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 16, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-16, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 12, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 21 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-12, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 17, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 72 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-17, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 14, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 23 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-14, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 9, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 72 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 9, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 12 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 11, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 17 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-11, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 9, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 118 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 17, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 22 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-17, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 10, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 150 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-10, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 11, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-11, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 19, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 62 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-19, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 12, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 145 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-12, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 11, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 145 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-11, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 15, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 59 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-15, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 14, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 72 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-14, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 13, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 143 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-13, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 10, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 9 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-10, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 9, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 18 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 10, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 69 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-10, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 18, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 144 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-18, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 18, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 22 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-18, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 14, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-14, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 12, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-12, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 13, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-13, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 19, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 21 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-19, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 19, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 23 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-19, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier IT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 20, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 61 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-20, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.

  • AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.

    U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Nov 20, 2018 official government

    EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2018-11-20, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.

NOAA Storm Events (NWS record) 25

Agency and publisher pages 3

  • Camp Fire Air Quality Data Analysis

    California Air Resources Board · Jul 1, 2021 official government

    CARB's analysis concludes that Camp Fire smoke caused dangerously high air pollution in the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area from November 8 through 22, 2018.

  • Smoke Text Product: November 9, 2018

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Nov 9, 2018 official government

    NOAA satellite analysis states that thick smoke from the Camp Fire moved west through the Sacramento Valley and south toward the San Francisco Bay area.

  • Wildfires in California

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Jan 1, 2022 corroborates government

    CDC reports that Camp Fire smoke spread over the Sacramento Valley and down to the San Francisco Bay Area beginning November 9, 2018, with sustained extreme PM2.5 in Sacramento County.

What remains uncertain

Status and provenance

EPA monitor flag EPA attached an exceptional-event qualifier to the affected samples. The agency flagged the measurement itself; no separate agency record describes the event.

This episode was grouped from the monitor record by the catalog pipeline and given its cause from the evidence listed above. It has not been individually reviewed and signed off, so its boundaries, cause, and name may change as evidence accumulates. Grouping policy common_sense_root_cause_grouping.v2. The cause label reflects the assembled evidence above, not an IAQng detection formula. If it is wrong, tell us.